Modern automobiles include a number of different types of hinges. Some hinges are used to mount the doors to the body of the vehicle, others to mount the trunk lid or deck lid to the vehicle body, others to pivotably support the rear door or gate of a vehicle at the rear of the vehicle body (such as, for example, the body of a minivan or sport utility vehicle or the like), and others are used to mount the hood to the vehicle body. In many cases, different models of vehicles require different hinges because of the different constructions of the different vehicle models. One of these differences relates to the stopping position of the hinge. For example, the hinges used to support the rear gate of a vehicle often include stops built into the hinge to stop the rear gate from pivoting upwardly past a certain point. While the vehicle will often include gas struts on the upwardly pivoting rear gate that stop the rear door from pivoting beyond a given angle of opening, it is typically the case that the gate hinge includes upward stops that limit or positively stop the extent to which the gate can be lifted before the gas struts are mounted to the gate and vehicle. The stops may thus prevent the gate or door from rolling over onto the top of the vehicle during initial assembly of the vehicle in the vehicle assembly plant. The gate is typically installed on the vehicle body in the “body in white” area of the vehicle assembly plant before the vehicle body and doors and other components are moved to the paint area. After the vehicle is painted, the gate is raised and the gas struts are installed. The gas struts then provide the stops for the gate to limit the upward pivotal movement of the gate.
The stops on the hinges thus may control the degree of opening, depending on where they are located, and may prevent the gate from rolling over onto the top of the vehicle body. For different models of vehicles, the angular position of the respective hinge when it has reached its upward limit will desirably be different, due to different rear door constructions and different overall vehicle constructions and different desired opening angles.
Typically, in order to accommodate the different stop positions for the hinge, it has often been necessary to construct different hinges, with each particular hinge being used with a specific vehicle model. The construction of different hinges for each vehicle, however, is typically relatively expensive. Automobile manufacturers are increasingly looking to use common parts on different vehicle models in order to reduce the costs associated with manufacturing so many separate parts. The desirability of an automobile hinge that can easily accommodate different stopping positions can therefore be seen.
Automobile manufactures are also looking to decrease the manufacturing costs of virtually all automobile components, including vehicle hinges. Some automobile hinges have included relatively expensive components, such as extruded aluminum parts that are cut and further processed after the extrusion process takes place. The aluminum parts typically require strengthening ribs or flanges or the like formed thereon to make the parts strong enough to withstand the forces typically encountered during opening and closing of the pivotable components. The use of aluminum is often desirably avoided due to its relatively expensive nature as compared with other metals. Other hinge parts have been made out of bent tubular steel in order to provide suitable strength. Bent tubular steel, however, is also typically relatively expensive as compared to other manufacturing materials and techniques.
The desire thus exists for automobile hinges that have reduced manufacturing costs as compared to present hinges and techniques. Furthermore, it is desirable to reduce the weight of automobile hinges while still retaining the necessary structural strength. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an automobile hinge that overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art.